Romans 1:18-25
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KJV
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
20 The invisible attributes of God, even his eternal power and divinity, since the creation of the world, are very evident: being known by his works.
Christadelphian Interpretations
"God's Two Books"
Brother John Thomas paired verse 20 with 2 Timothy 3:16 to express the idea of God's "Two Books": his ‘’Works’’ in the creation and his ‘’Word’’ in the Scriptures. Elsewhere he referred to them by the understatement “those two interesting volumes”. See at "Two Books" for other modern Christadelphian views for and against this belief.
See God’s Word and God’s Works for other historical Christadelphian approaches.
Evolution and Abiogenesis
Bro Stephen Palmer interprets verse 25 to apply to a supposed attempt to use "the theory of evolution" to account for Abiogenesis (q.v. — evolution is not about abiogenesis!) in an essay published by The Christadelphian Magazine in the 2015 "Genesis Foundations" series:
Through contemplating the natural world we come to believe that the Creator must exist even though we cannot see Him. To reduce the creative power to visible things is to commit the central sin of Romans 1:
“. . . who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (verse 25)
And I believe that this is exactly what the theory of evolution does when it attributes the origin of life and the origin of species to factors inherent in the “creature”, and dismisses the necessity for the Creator and Designer; contrary to observation, complex information is said to be brought out of nothing through random change and selective survival and reproduction. Here is the ultimate “idolatry”. We may wonder how so many clever people could be so wrong, but this was exactly the state of affairs in Athens, the intellectual capital of the world in the time of the Apostle Paul.
— Palmer, S, CREATION OR EVOLUTION – DEBATING WITH EVOLUTIONISTS, The Christadelphian Magazine, Genesis Foundations, 2015
Other Links
- Compare translations at Invisible Attributes of God
- Beliefs re the Witness of Creation
- Job 38:2
- Cited here as an example of respecting the witness of the natural world.
- Brother Jonathan Burke cites this passage here.
- The place of scientific experience
